[Ammi]

A financial adviser has paid £6 to register as a business, meaning he can employ his family to avoid the "rule of six" restriction.

Fenn Settle, 28, has registered a consultancy business under his name so he can exploit exemptions which mean that gatherings for work are permitted even in areas under the highest tier of Covid restrictions.

It is the latest loophole to emerge after business lunches were found to be exempt from the restrictions on meeting indoors in hospitality venues.

It also emerged on Thursday that private members' clubs in Tier 3 regions could avoid having to serve a "substantial" meal in order to sell alcohol because of the wording of their premises certificates.

Guidance published on the Association of Conservative Clubs' (ACC) website said club members own the alcohol and it is therefore not sold to them but "supplied".

Preston City Council said club premises do not need to abide by the Tier 3 restrictions when serving members, and it is understood that councils in Fylde and the Wirral have issued similar guidance.

Mr Settle, from Shipley, West Yorkshire, said he had been inspired to find his loophole after he was not allowed to see his 84-year-old grandfather, Peter Williams, in the two months before his death.

He has registered "Fenn Settle Ltd" with Companies House and could "hire" family and friends on zero-hours contracts and invite them for gatherings at his home, the registered address of the business, which would be exempt from the restrictions.

In a post on social media, he told the Government it was "checkmate" and "the joke's on you".

Government guidance says the "rule of six" does not apply "to gatherings for work… organised in a Covid-secure way".

Even under the strictest Tier 3 restrictions, the rules say there is "no limit to the group size when you are meeting or gathering for work purposes".

"I'm in no way, shape or form mocking Covid," Mr Settle told The Telegraph. "I just think it’s ludicrous people are missing Christmas with family members, yet it's totally acceptable for people to have spent time with work colleagues who could have been God knows where in the last week."

Mr Settle, currently living under Tier Two restrictions which mean household mixing is limited, added that he had set up the company to lampoon what he claimed were "trial by error" rules and he did not currently plan to hire his family.

A Government spokesman said: "The Prime Minister has been clear of his ambition to ensure that people may celebrate Christmas as a family this year.

"Our best chance of defeating the virus and getting back to some sort of normal is for everyone to act responsibly, continue to do their bit and follow the guidance. We have been clear this means individuals from different households currently cannot meet indoors in those areas under Tier 2 and Tier 3 restrictions."

https://uk.yahoo.com/finance/man-pay...180039385.html

[Niamh.]

Idiot

[Kate!]

There's always one isn't there? Xx

[Oliver_W]

I guess it's cheaper than whatever fines my family might get at Christmas when we all meet up!

[Ammi]

...apparently, being mindful of the safety and health of your loved ones is similar to some kind of ‘tax loophole’ finding or some such thing ...the ‘satisfaction’ of finding a way around and creating more vulnerability for your family/loved ones...

[Mitchell]

The tories are probably trying to sign him up as the next chancellor

[UserSince2005]

Hope hes paying them minimum wage and their pension contributions.

[Cherie]

just stupid, why not do something really radical and actually stop mixing in close contact so we might get out of this mess, but no...

[AnnieK]

I saw this on FB yesterday and there were loads of people thinking it was a brilliant idea and they were going to do the same

[arista]

Yes clever, in a way.

[Smithy]

Does this not just prove how stupid the rules are?

[bitontheslide]

the social club loophole has now been closed.


If the man is running a business with employees then he has to make sure that it is covid secure or his place of business (his home) could be closed down. He may think he is being smart, but he is not.


Also, this shouldn't be about getting around restrictions, people should want to adhere to the restrictions, they are for our own good ... i despair sometimes

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Smithy

Does this not just prove how stupid the rules are?

Well people are expected to be adults about it too though, the rules are never going to be 100% perfect, there's too much stuff going on in life. People are just supposed to, above all use a bit of common sense, it's for everyones benefit at the end of the day but you know what they say about common sense.........

[Kate!]

Originally Posted by Smithy

Does this not just prove how stupid the rules are?

Yes. Absolutely.

The rule of 6 is bollocks to say the least.

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Kate!

Yes. Absolutely.

The rule of 6 is bollocks to say the least.

why?

[Mitchell]

This is 100% a knock on effect from all the flouting of the rules by the same people who created them, the second the likes of Rishi start holding ‘business lunches’ in a pizza express, then the people stop taking you and your rules seriously

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Well people are expected to be adults about it too though, the rules are never going to be 100% perfect, there's too much stuff going on in life. People are just supposed to, above all use a bit of common sense, it's for everyones benefit at the end of the day but you know what they say about common sense.........

Common sense is when everyone abides by the rules... or the initiative will not work. I'm glad this guy did this well done to him it exposes a blatant disparity.
If families can't meet for business or pleasure neither can colleagues, if areas are in tier 3 ( as my area will be from monday) then there should be no mixing of households end of.
There should be no loopholes, or the whole thing is pointless.

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Mitchell

This is 100% a knock on effect from all the flouting of the rules by the same people who created them, the second the likes of Rishi start holding ‘business lunches’ in a pizza express, then the people stop taking you and your rules seriously

Bingo! The whole country was 100% behind the lock down, until Cummings broke lockdown. Then the public faith in the rules was ruined.

[Cherie]

People flouting the rules are killing their own economy thats the irony, Dom will be fine

[Kizzy]

Why will dom be fine, is it not his economy too?
Just because a rule states you can meet for business doesn't mean you should.
In this instance flouting that rule is in the public interest, do you not see the irony in that?

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Why will dom be fine, is it not his economy too?
Just because a rule states you can meet for business doesn't mean you should.
In this instance flouting that rule is in the public interest, do you not see the irony in that?

Presumably because a bad recession isn't going to hit him in the same way it would hit the average citizen

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Presumably because a bad recession isn't going to hit him in the same way it would hit the average citizen

Then you could apply that logic to every rich person in the UK, they were all fine to abide by lock down rules.

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Presumably because a bad recession isn't going to hit him in the same way it would hit the average citizen

Yip he will have a job and a salary come what may, so carrying on using him as an excuse is silly, everyone was right behind lockdown because we knew little about the virus, now we know we have to live with it for the foreseeable

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Then you could apply that logic to every rich person in the UK, they were all fine to abide by lock down rules.

hey I'm not defending the guy, I think he's a slimey asshole and was well out of order for blatantly flouting his own rules......I was just saying that's what I thought Cherie had meant by it and it is true

[Josy]

Saw this on fb last night and the amount of people laughing and or applauding it was actually ridiculous

How about grow the hell up, stick to the guidelines like we are supposed to, stop being selfish and risking family and others so we can possibly move on from this in the near future.